Media Contact: Kate Callen at (619) 534-0361 or kcallen@ucsd.edu

UCSD ANNOUNCES 1999 FRESHMEN ADMISSIONS DATA

The University of California, San Diego has admitted 12,828 freshmen for the Fall 1999 quarter.   Selected from a record 32,464 freshman applications (the second highest number in the UC system), the group is the most academically prepared pool of admitted students in UCSD's history. Their mean high school grade point average (GPA) of 4.05 is up from last year's record 3.99, and their average composite Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) of 1,303 is up from last year's record 1,294.

The 12,828 admitted freshmen include 90 students from San Diego and Imperial Counties who were accepted as a direct result of UCSD's new policy guaranteeing admission to local UC-eligible seniors who place in the top 4 percent of their graduating high school classes.

Data on admissions of underrepresented students present mixed news.  More Mexican-American and Latino applicants were admitted than in 1998, but fewer African-American and Native-American applicants were admitted than in the previous year.

Of the 919 African-American students who applied this year (a 13.8% rise over the 809 applicants in 1998), 172 were admitted, a decrease of 15.0% over last year.  Of the 2,513 Mexican-American students who applied to UCSD this year (a 17.8% rise over the 2,098 applicants in 1998), 820 were admitted, an increase of 19.8% over last year.  Of the 191 Native-American students who applied to UCSD this year (a 6.1% rise over the 179 applicants in 1998), 56 were admitted, a decrease of 15.0% over last year.  And of the 951 Latino students who applied to UCSD this year (a 29.7% rise over the 733 applicants in 1998), 289 were admitted, an increase of 2.0% over last year.

"We are delighted by the high academic caliber of our admitted students, and we will make every effort to persuade them to accept our offer," said Dr. Joseph Watson, UCSD Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs.  "We are pleased that our new 4% admissions policy has put a UCSD education within reach of 90 San Diego and Imperial County students who would not have been admitted otherwise.

"We also are glad that this year's admitted students include record numbers of Mexican-American and Latino students," Watson continued.  "But we are deeply disappointed that the higher numbers of applications from African-American and Native-American students did not result in higher numbers of admissions in those underrepresented groups. This university is determined to increase the racial and ethnic diversity of its student population, and we will intensify our efforts to achieve that goal."

Admitted students have until May 1, 1999 to declare whether they will attend UCSD.  In the weeks to come, outreach efforts to admitted students will include telephone calls from UCSD students and admissions counselors; home visits; high school visits; and invitations to overnight visits to campus.  These activities will culminate in two major outreach programs: a reception in San Francisco for Bay-area students on March 27 and "Admit Day" at UCSD on April 10, when all admitted students and their families will be welcomed to campus by representatives of UCSD's five undergraduate colleges, departments, faculty, and Admissions and Outreach staff.